A confident step into the final

The Metafrax team won the qualifying round of the regional Championship "Lean technologies 2024" and reached the final, which will be held as part of the Perm Engineering and Industrial Forum-2024.

The final qualifying stage of the lean manufacturing's championship took place on October 25 in Gubakha on the basis of the Urals Chemical Technological College. The event was organized by the Perm Chamber of Commerce and Industry with the support of the regional competence Center of the Perm Region. The companies Metafrax Chemicals, Avisma (Berezniki) and the Chusovoy enterprise of the Amalgamated Metallurgical Company took part in the qualifying round.

The event was moderated by Irina Reshetnikova, general director of the International Business Support Group, Head of the International Center for LEAN Competencies. She proposed to the participants 7 tests, in which they had to demonstrate knowledge and skills in the field of applying modern lean manufacturing technologies, to find optimal solutions to the designated tasks. The experts assessed the level of competence of the participants and the effectiveness of the teamwork.

The competition day started with the presentation of the teams. Our team called "MetaLean" was represented at the qualifying stage by young specialists Vyacheslav Budin, Ivan Frolov, Yulia Babina, Natalia Kharisova and Anton Veshnyakov.

First of all, the participants solved the quiz "Lean Quiz". Then, after analyzing the video and the materials presented, we identified losses in the organization of production, using the tools of a lean system, we created a prototype of efficient production. At the end of the task, the prevention of the identified errors was performed.

After the practical test, the participants played the game "In other words". The team representative had to explain the "lean" terms to his colleagues without naming them, and the team had to guess. The final task of the qualifying stage was the assembly of a desk lamp. But it was only the first step to assemble it in accordance with the presented sample. After that, the teams had to analyze the work done, identify processes that could be optimized using the principles of lean manufacturing, and reassemble this desk lamp. Both times, our team, having shown the coherence of the actions of all participants, was the first one.

Summing up the results of the competition day, Elena Zvereva, an expert of the championship, a representative of the regional competence center of the Perm Region, noted the high training level of the teams and knowledge of the principles of the lean production. The Metafrax team turned out to be the most productive, the Avisma team took the second place, and the team of the Chusovoy enterprise of the Amalgamated Metallurgical Company took the third place. All teams received certificates and gifts from Avisma and Metafrax Chemicals.

This qualifying stage identified the last participants of the final - the teams of Metafrax and Avisma. 8 teams will meet in the final of the championship, which will be held at the end of November as part of the Perm Engineering and Industrial Forum.

- Official lean manufacturing competitions between enterprises are still new to us. But each member of our team already has experience in this field: monthly audits according to the "5S" system, "School of masters", "School of supervisors". We are able one hundred percent to understand the tasks correctly and defend our opinion. I am grateful to each of my colleagues, these people have enormous potential and a desire for development," shared Anton Veshnyakov, captain of our team, senior master of the Bureau for control over the operation of dynamic equipment at the AUM Complex.

- The impressions from the championship are only positive, we already have something to compare it with. Since this is not the first time we participate in such an event with such a composition, we already feel the cohesion of the team. We have learned to understand each other, know the strengths and weaknesses of each participant and use these features to achieve good results. The contenders were strong and creative, it was nice to watch their teamwork, and we took note of something. We exchanged contacts and hope to visit their enterprises in the future as guests to share our experience in the field of development of lean production tools," said Natalia Kharisova, a process engineer at the railway workshop.